10 Nov 2008

VETERANS IN EUROPE ??

Since Next Tuesday is Veterans Day, I thought it would be nice to salute our Veterans and show our appreciation. Photo requirement of something patriotic. (To this I want to add that this game is for the whole blogworld and not only for American blogs !)

In the European countries we don't have Veterans Day. It is called Armistice Day and is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

In some countries with strong anti-military traditions (e.g., Germany) veterans are neither honored in any special way, nor have their dedicated Veterans Day.

In Belgium it is an official holiday, known also as the day of peace in the Flanders Fields. But if you ask people on the street : "why do you have a day off ?", most of them don't know. Or they think it's because of WW II

In my special case I am "involved" in 3 countries.

I was born in Germany and have a German passport so I am officially German

I married an Italian and became Italian by marriage and I am officially Italian too

The fact that I live now 50 years in Belgium makes me to an unofficial Belgian citizen.

Our son has both nationalities, he is Italian and German, but has never lived in these countries. He doesn't even speak very well German or Italian. He was born and raised in Belgium and his mother tongue is French. He works for an English company and has lived for 10 years in the UK. Since 5 years he lives in Amsterdam (Holland)

Which veteran should he honor ???

European Flag

So the only patriotic feelings I could have would be for a UNITED EUROPE. And Europe has no veterans, for the simple reason that it is a political and economic union of 27 member states, only established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community from 1957.

In Germany there are no Veteran cemetaries. German soldiers are burried in 57 countries. In Belgium there are 181.000 graves for them.

In Belgium veterans are honored by the King on this day, but from WW I, I doubt that there is a veteran left..

18 comments:

"Day of Peace"--how moving to celebrate peace instead of war. You do have a diverse citizenship, don't you? Our tour guide for recent European trip had your same situation--German by birth, married to an Italian and living in Italy. Oh, she had also lived in Paris for over ten years and then got tired of the traffic. I loved the Eiffel Tower with its blue lights and gold stars to signify the United Europe.

By the way, if you read my post and find that I've made some historical errors please tell me so I can correct. Thanks!

I agree with Faye! How lovely that you celebrate peace instead of war! You should be so proud Gattina! Your son is a child of our beautiful earth! Much like my own! My kids have Turkish/English and Scottish backgrounds but live in Australia! They have a Catholic and Muslim background but have been raised as citizens of our earth! Not by religion or race! If only everyone felt the same!

Great post Gattina. I'm wearing my Poppy today for Remembrance which is a tradition in the UK. I think your idea of a wish for a united Europe is lovely. I would wish for peace for all wartorn countries and blessings to anyone who has been touched by war.

There is an exhibition in my town about the women and children during the WW 1. I think I will have a look. I am always impresse reading your nationalities! Nothing else to have an opened mind on the world!

It's always so interesting to hear about other countries and their traditions. Bottom line we are all Gods children. My wish is "Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me" Thanks for sharing and God Bless

Your multi-citizenship is fascinating. There's such a difference between the U.S. and Europe. What you described reminds me of someone who says their mom is from Texas and their father is from Colorado and they were born in Kentucky and married someone from Maine. We think states while you think countries.

A very informative post indeed, with lots of interesting facts. Well, its even less celebrating in Sweden since we've not been in the war because of our so called neutrality. (Which some thinks weren't so neutral :-)

War really is the most STUPID thing in this world I think... and human is supposed to be intelligent! Bah!

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About Me

I love painting, writing, travelling and photography. My favorit models are my four cats which I observe with fun and humor. I am German, married to an Italian and we live in Waterloo (15 km from Brussels) / Belgium since many years. Waterloo is a famous place to many tourists, because Napoleon lost his battle here against Wellington and other European countries.